In Mississippi lawmakers passed what's being referred to as an "anti-Bloomberg bill" that would prevent municipalities there from regulating nutrition.

New York's controversial soda ban aims to prohibit the sale of sugared beverages in quantities larger than 16 ounces in places regulated by the city health department, including national chains such as Dunkin' Donuts and Subway sandwich shops. But it has been publicly derided as an example of aggressive regulation and being too full of loopholes.

The law exempts places where the health department does not have jurisdiction, such as 7-Eleven stores. So the popular "Big Gulp," with 364 calories and 91 grams of sugar, and "Double Gulp" with 744 calories and 186 grams of sugar, are exempt from the ban.

A coalition of groups, including the National Restaurant Association, the Korean-American Grocers Association, and the Soft Drink and Brewery Workers Union, filed suit against the city to stop the ban in October of last year, arguing that the link between sugary drinks and obesity was not entirely clear and that many drinks not subject to regulation were just as sugary and calorie-laden as those that were.

Tingling wrote in his decision that the regulations, which allow high-calorie drinks like milkshakes to escape portion control, are "fraught with arbitrary and capricious consequences."

"The loopholes in this rule effectively defeat the stated purpose of the rule," Judge Tingling said.

Tuesday morning, Bloomberg appeared at a Manhattan restaurant and held aloft a 64-oz. cup of sugary soda. "If you drink 800 calories [of] full sugary drink, you are as hungry as before," Bloomberg said, according to news reports.

The new law in Mississippi, which is awaiting the governor's signature, makes the state legislature exclusively responsible for regulating "consumer incentive items and nutrition labeling for food that is a menu item in restaurants, food establishments, and vending machines." Restricted from local regulation are characters, toys, games, trading cards, crayons, place mats and contests, the bill stated.

The bill passed the state Senate by a vote of 50-1, and the state House of Representatives by a vote of 92-26.

According to state health department findings in 2007, 33% of adult Mississippians were obese. In 36% of adult Mississippians measured at the same time, body mass index was between 25 and 30. Also that year, 17.9% of Mississippi's high school students were obese, and another 17.9% were deemed at risk for becoming overweight.

The proportion of residents with diabetes in Mississippi has increased from 9.5% in 2005 to 11.1% in 2007 -- a 16.8% increase, according to the state department of health. In addition, 30,123 individuals were diagnosed with pre-diabetes in 2006.

Mike Cashion, executive director the Mississippi Hospitality and Restaurant Association, told NPR that the bill was passed in reaction to health interventions like Bloomberg's.

"The whole purpose of the bill that was passed was to make sure that as debate took place regarding food and food policy, as it related to the public health and welfare in the state, that it takes place at the state and not the local level," he told MedPage Today. "We want to make sure that any policy can be implemented uniformly and consistently in the state. What we don't want is a patchwork of local ordinances from city to city, or county to county."

Cashion said that as consumers have become more aware and more interested in health options, the industry has responded. He said more attention is being paid to offering healthy dining options, and "that's been driven by the consumer."

"Not because of legislative mandates or regulatory mandates, but because of consumer demand," he said. "Our industry has always been one to respond to the marketplace."

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